#675 NativeNM: “A great day, perfect 10.”
#3781 Bethany: “It was a 7 – more family drama than usual and an emptier table than we usually have… but still lots of good food!”

Congrats, winners! Contact prizes@thepioneerwoman.com to claim your mixers.

Today, because it’s Black Friday, because Christmas is around the corner, and because we love ya, we’re giving away two of these gorgeous candy apple red Kitchen Aid mixers.

Pretty. Shiny. Fun!

 
TO ENTER

To enter this giveaway, just answer the following question in the Comments section of this post:

How would you rater your Thanksgiving feast on a scale of 1 to 10?

Let us know how all the grub was—was it a spectacular 10? Or was there room for improvement? Or did you not celebrate Thanksgiving (in which case your jeans probably fit just fine this morning, unlike some people in my household. Ahem.)

 
 
THE RULES

One entry per person, please.

Winners will be selected at random and announced Sunday.

Good luck!

 
_________________________________

Contest sponsored by Tasty Kitchen, with cooperation from CHEFS Catalog.

#1544 Beth F. “I am definitely a stuffing person, however, one of my favorite things is the leftovers when you can make turkey loaf by mixing some shredded or chunked turkey with the stuffing and enough gravy to make everything moist!”
#10529 Kai: “My favorite Thanksgiving dish is stuffing with turkey gravy on top!”
#12188 Mallory: “I’m a mashed potatoes and gravy girl all the way!”

Congratulations, winners! Contact prizes@thepioneerwoman.com to claim your mixers. Have a great weekend!

Today, because Thanksgiving is just around the corner, because it’s our favorite time of year in terms of cooking, and because the holiday recipes pouring into Tasty Kitchen are out-of-this-world delicious, we’re giving away three (3) Kitchen Aid Artisan stand mixers in this gorgeous “Bayleaf” color.

 
TO ENTER

To enter this giveaway, just answer the following question in the Comments section of this post:

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

Are you a mashed potato fan? Or is it the stuffing/dressing you long for the most? Do you dive into your mama’s sweet potato pie? Or does the roasted turkey come in first place for you?

Just shout out your very favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal and you’re automatically entered to win the mixer. Also, if you have a favorite online Thanksgiving recipe you’ve found, feel free to link to it in your comment!

And if you’re looking for inspiration this year, you can find all the wonderful, glorious Tasty Kitchen Thanksgiving recipes here. Sort by rating, photo, or title to find what you’re looking for!

Thanksgiving Recipes on Tasty Kitchen

 
 
THE RULES

One entry per person, please. No entries after noon Friday.

Winners will be selected at random and announced Saturday.

Good luck!

 
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Contest sponsored entirely by Tasty Kitchen, with cooperation from CHEFS Catalog.

Head over here to submit your best grilling recipes: PW/Bush’s Grilling Recipe Contest.

nauheim: “I’d say zero….but since I do actually have knives, I’ll say one.”
Andrea P: “A pathetic zero, unless a negative number is a possibility. The joys of being a graduate student without money!”
mo2boyz: “I would say a 2 and that’s being generous with the rating. I have one paring knife that actually cuts.”

Congrats, knife winners! Contact prizes@tastykitchen.com to claim your loot.

(And be careful—sharp!)

Love,
P-Dub

Becky in VA: Watching plants and trees beginning to grow AND being warm AND not having to dress in layers AND planting our garden AND opening the windows!

Shelly in So Cal: My rose bushes in full bloom And the post-spring cleaning house…

Congrats, winners! Contact prizes@tastykitchen.com to claim your pot.

___________________

Today, to celebrate cooking, to celebrate Daylight Savings time, to celebrate that I could barely get out of bed this morning, and to celebrate the glorious coming of spring, we’re giving away two (2) Le Creuset 7 1/2-Quart Round French Ovens in this lovely “Caribbean” blue color.

 
TO ENTER

To enter the contest, just answer the following question in the Comments section of this post:

“What do you love most about Spring?”

Is it the opportunity to garden again? The earth coming back to life? The Easter or Passover season? Radishes? Just name the number one reason you love spring, and you’re automatically entered to win the pot.

 
THE RULES

One entry per person, please. Strictly enforced with a wooden spoon.

No entries after midnight Tuesday.

Winners will be chosen randomly and announced Wednesday morning.

Good luck!

____________________________________

Giveaway sponsored by Tasty Kitchen/Pioneer Woman.

The second I read the name of this recipe, I just knew I had to make it. First of all, I love any recipe with either “mystery” or “surprise” in the title. Second, I love any recipe with “mocha” in the title. It means good things will happen.

So “Mystery Mocha?” Count me in!

I thought it was funny that halfway through the printable recipe, the submitter (thanks, Larry!) warns us that “this will look TERRIBLE”. You’ve got to love the honesty!

But no matter what it looks like halfway through, the end result is all that I wanted it to be…and more. It turns out a little bit like a lava cake or baked fudge, but with a lovely coffee undertone. I served mine with freshly whipped cream and absolutely loved every bite. This is a treasure!

Here’s how you make it.

Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate in the microwave for about 45 seconds.

Stir it until the mixture is totally melted and smooth.

Sift together sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate container, mix together the milk and vanilla. Set aside.

Mix together the sifted mixture, the chocolate mixture, and the milk/vanilla mixture.

Stir it together until all combined, then spread in a thoroughly greased square pan. Mine was about 6 1/2 x 6 1/2, but 8 x 8 would work fine.

Now, this is where it starts getting weird. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa powder.

Stir it to combine…

Then sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter.

Interesting! What does it all mean?

After that mixture is evenly sprinkled and distributed, pour cold coffee all over the top. I didn’t have any coffee made, so I mixed instant coffee crystals in a cup of water. And I made it very strong: two heaping tablespoons of coffee! We’ll see how it turns out.

This would definitely be the part in the recipe where Larry warns “it will look terrible!” I don’t think it looks terrible at all, though…just curious!

Bake for 40 minutes on 350 degrees, then remove from the oven.

And this…THIS is what it looks like!

Oh my word. Oh my.

It’s funny—until I scooped into it, I didn’t realize this would be a lava-type cake. it was a nice surprise!

Gorgeous! And it smells so, so good.

I whipped some cream and plopped it on top.

And this turned out to be a very good move.

The Verdict: This was absolutely delicious. If you use very strong coffee, the flavor will really come through and result in a very rich mocha flavor. This would be perfect for company—so easy to make!

Thank you, Larry, for sharing such a yummy recipe.

Here’s a link to the printable, folks:

Mystery Mocha on Tasty Kitchen

Justyne was randomly selected, but I loved her answer: “10 – I have voted in every single election – municipal, provincial and federal since I turned eighteen.”

Great job, Justyne! Contact prizes@tastykitchen.com to claim your mixer.

Thank you, everyone!

 
 
 
 

And these ginger sugar cookies from Heather Christo are precious, and sound absolutely yummy. (Love Heather’s blog!)

 
 
 
 

I love the look of these pieknits. Colorful!

 
 
 
 

This is a great, simple recipe for a cute topping for cheesecakes, etc. Thanks, ButterYum!

 
 
 
 

For those of you with a grody sense of humor, try serving up these Spooky Bloody Brains (again, from Lauren) just before going trick-or-treating. Ha!

 
 
 
 

And finally, these classic Mummy Dogs, submitted by Mommy’s Kitchen.

Very cute stuff, guys! Thanks for sharing. My kids are now making their own grocery list.

Love,
Ree

Here’s the recipe: Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, submitted by The Church Cook.

Not only do I think this buttercream frosting looks delicious, I also think it’s such a lovely food photo. It does what food photos should do: make us want to reach through our computer monitors and grab whatever’s in the shot. That’s one of the things I love about Tasty Kitchen; so many beautiful food photos come in every day. They can’t help but inspire!

Check out The Church Cook’s own food blog here: The Church Cook

From the TK Blog archives – March 2010

I’ve been intrigued with this frosting recipe for months, not just because of its alluring title, but also because if its ingredients. Five tablespoons of flour? In frosting? Let’s just say my interest was piqued.

I finally got around to making it yesterday evening; Marlboro Man’s grandmother has some old friends staying at The Lodge and I wanted to take them a treat. So I whipped up this frosting, slapped it on some chocolate cupcakes…and wound up considering not sharing them with the guests because it was so delicious.

You owe it to yourself to make this frosting sometime in your life.

You’ll just have to trust me on this.

Thank you, MissyDew, for submitting!

Here’s how you make it:

First things first: I made chocolate sheet cake cupcakes. They’re the best cupcakes around.

Here’s the recipe:

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake (or Cupcakes!) Ever

Let your cupcakes (or cake) cool completely.

Begin by pouring 5 tablespoons of flour into 1 cup of milk. I used whole milk because I can if I want.

After adding the flour, whisk it together until combined, then place the saucepan over medium heat. Whisk it as it heats up and thickens, and stop when the mixture is very thick.

Cool the mixture completely.

The mixture will be very, very thick.

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the cooled flour/milk mixture.

Stir it around to combine.

Pour one cup of sugar into a bowl with one cup of butter.

Whip it around until it’s light and fluffy, scraping the bowl once or twice to make sure it’s all mixed well.

Add the cooled flour/milk/vanilla mixture. Make sure it’s not the least bit warm!

 
I’m bossy. Sorry.

Next, just whip it on medium-high until the mixture resembled whipped cream.

This was slightly tricky for me, as I was afraid of overbeating the mixture and causing everything to start breaking down and falling apart. I’d say this is about 45 seconds of pretty hard beating.

And then it was time for the rubber to meet the road.

This was spread with a big spatula…

This was spread with a dinner knife. The frosting definitely has a whipped cream consistency; it’s not thick like a decorator icing.

Before I allowed myself to taste it, I made some sprinkled ones for my punks.

This makes for a crunchy cupcake!

And now…for the moment of truth.

THE VERDICT: Okay. Let me just explain something to you. After I took this bite, I looked around for the hidden camera. I was certain someone was playing a trick on me. This frosting is so UNBELIEVABLY divine, I almost couldn’t believe what was happening to me. The consistency is light, the flavor indescribably delicious, and a perfect complement to the rich chocolate cake. And don’t just take my word for it—after my daughter took her first bite, she looked at me and said “WHAT is this FROSTING?”

Even she knew she was in the presence of greatness.

Here’s the frosting recipe:

That’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had

Note: I would probably recommend making the frosting on the same day you intend to serve it.

Thank you to MissyDew for sharing such a great recipe!